This morning, I invite you to turn with me to 1 Corinthians 12, as we read verses 12 through 31. 1 Corinthians 12, beginning at verse 12. And we read this in connection with Article 28 of the Belgic Confession of Faith, found on page 83 in the back of the Psalter hymnal. Last week, you recall, we began the Confessions Consideration of the Church. It covers what we confess concerning the Church in a number of articles, this being the second one. This one probably giving the most trouble. Maybe some of what we confess in this article, even some here, don't agree with. We all know people who would not agree with what we confess, as we will consider this morning. But it has the title, Everyone is Bound to Join Himself to the True Church. And it's not talking, in a sense, about the one holy congregation that we considered last week. Because we don't join ourselves to that one holy Catholic Church, our Lord joins us to that. And this is pointing more toward the visible expression of the Church on this earth. Everyone is bound to join himself to the true church. We read 1 Corinthians chapter 12, beginning at verse 12, as we hear now the word of God. The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts, and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one spirit into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given the one spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body, it would not for that reason cease to be a part of the body. And if the ear should say, Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body, it would not for that reason cease to be a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, I don't need you. And the head cannot say to the feet, I don't need you. On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable, we treat with special honor. and the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ. and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church, God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret, but eagerly desire the greater gifts. Beloved congregation of Christ the Lord. Now let me ask you, what do you think about that addressed? What do you think about being addressed that way? Is it important to you? Does it mean something for you? Did you even hear it? If not, let's try it again. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ. You see, people of God, that address to you is more than just the opening words of a sermon meant to get your attention. That address is to remind you and me that we are a part of something wonderful, Something that cannot and will not ever be equaled. True Christian believers are a part of that miracle and mystery, as we said last week, called the church. And I hope and pray that for each one of us here, this is both humbling, yet seen as the greatest privilege that you could ever have. Many of us here are called professing members of this church. And if you are visiting with us this morning, then you might be a professing member of another congregation where you live. But that means, to be a professing member means that we have made a public profession of our faith. That we have publicly professed and stated that we believe in and expect our salvation in Jesus Christ. Beloved, church membership is not simply our custom or our tradition. But it's biblical. Maybe you have wondered about certain questions such as, can a person be saved without going to church? Can a person be a member of a church and not attend it or participate in its life? Or is it really that important to profess my faith? After all, these days, many people say, and we've all heard it, faith is what's important. Just so that you believe in Jesus Christ, Faith is what's important, not whether you are a member of the church. Well, again, we are a part of that miracle and mystery called the church. And that miraculous mystery, you might say, is that there is a church. That there is the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's important for us to consider what it really means to be a member of Christ's body and why we ought to be a member of the church. It's important, beloved, because there are blessings and benefits which God says in the Bible you can't find anywhere else except in the body of the Lord Jesus Christ in the church. The Word of God teaches the call to church membership, as summarized in Article 28, page 83, if you have it open. We believe, since this holy congregation is an assembly of those who are saved, and outside of it there is no salvation, that no person of whatsoever state or condition he may be ought to withdraw from it, content to be by himself, but that all men are in duty bound to join and unite themselves with it, maintaining the unity of the church, submitting themselves to the doctrine and discipline thereof, bowing their necks under the yoke of Jesus Christ, and as mutual members of the same body, serving to the edification of the brethren according to the talents God has given them. And that this may be the more effectually observed, it is the duty of all believers, according to the word of God, to separate themselves from all those who do not belong to the church, and to join themselves to this congregation, wheresoever God has established it, even though the magistrates and edicts of princes were against it, yea, though they should suffer death or any other corporal punishment, therefore all those who separate themselves from the same or do not join themselves to it, act contrary to the ordinance of God. Beloved, we ought to join the church, first of all because of what it is, and then in addition to that, because of who we are as Christians. Now, Article 28 begins with a statement of what the church is by going back to summarize what we considered in Article 27. Article 28 begins, We believe since this holy congregation is an assembly of those who are saved. That's what the true church is. That holy congregation gathered from the beginning of the world to the end, from all places and all peoples. And what do all true Christian believers have in common? Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. They all have expected, they all do expect, and they all will expect, you see, depending on when one lives in this history, all expect their salvation only in Him. He is the tie that binds our hearts together in Christian love. And these true believers all together are called the church. Jesus said that He would build His church on the foundation of Peter's confession that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. That's the central truth of the Christian religion. And that confession, beloved, is the fruit of the work of the Holy Spirit, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12, 3, Therefore, I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, Jesus, be cursed. And no one can say, Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. True life is only in Jesus Christ. He is the vine and the branch. Boys and girls, you know this is true too. You look at a tree, you look at a vine or a bush, the branch is living only as it is attached to, connected to, and drawing life-giving nourishment from the vine. as we said last week we said last week that the Bible describes the church in a variety of ways the church is described as the bride Jesus Christ, the bridegroom the church is described in scripture as the household of God 1 Corinthians 3.16 says don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple that's pointing, that's in the plural there, you as in the plural, pointing to the church, the assembly. You are God's temple and that God's spirit lives in you. And of course, our scripture reading, 1 Corinthians 12, as well as Romans 12, describes the church as the body of which Christ is the head. And with all of the descriptions that the Bible gives of the church, we see that the church is defined only one way. The church is defined by what she is in Christ. That's it. Nothing else. And therefore, just as a body separated from the head is lifeless, without Jesus there is no life. And that's why the article goes on to make a powerful and bold yet true statement about the church and outside of it, there is no salvation. Those who believe in Jesus are saved. And the company of the saved is called the church. And therefore, if you are in Christ Jesus by faith, then you must be saved. And if you are saved, then you are a part of the church. But if you are not in Christ Jesus by faith, you are not a part of the church. You are not saved. In a sense, now we end with our recap of what we considered in Article 27. Now, as we also mentioned last week, that holy congregation gathered from the beginning to the end of the world from all times, places, and peoples, that holy congregation has always appeared on this earth. She has always been visible. The Bible makes it clear that ever since the beginning, God has seen to it that there has always been the assembly of the saints, of the saved, here on earth. And there always will be, until Jesus comes again, there always will be a congregation of holy and faithful believers spread throughout this earth. And the Bible teaches this because the church owes her existence and her very life to God and not to herself. God who created the church, the Lord Jesus Christ who redeemed the church, the Holy Spirit who enlivens the church. This triune God will always see to it that the body of Christ continues to exist in this world. And we know that this church in any given period of history, including today, exists around the world in local churches, local congregations of true believers. The church is always visible in its doctrine or teaching, in its offices, in its worship, always visible in its members. And where you find true believers united in Christ, there you find the church, the body of Christ, apart from which there is no salvation. Now, of course, this may seem to contradict what we know to be true. And that is that not one local congregation, contrary to what we might like to think about ourselves as a congregation, but not one local church is perfect. Not one is without sin. In fact, sometimes the church on earth looks terribly deformed. Indeed, beloved, we are headed for the perfect church in glory. But praise God that it's not the sin that continues to cling to us against our renewed will that determines whether we are a part of the true church or not. And praise God that it's not our sin as members of the church that determines whether or not our church here in this place is a true church. And it's true as well as we will consider, the Lord willing, in Article 29, that not every group that calls itself church is really a church as the Bible describes it. Even some of our mainline churches nowadays, we have to look at them and say, what's going on? They do not believe in the resurrection anymore. They do not believe that Jesus is God. They do not believe in the virgin birth, that it happened, and many other things. And as well, as hard as it may be to accept, we know too, as the Bible teaches, that not necessarily every person sitting in the pew of a true church is a true believer. There are tares among the wheat. But the truth is, the holy congregation of true Christian believers becomes visible as these true believers gather together and join with each other because of their common bond in Christ, joining for worship, for encouragement, for help. And since outside of the true church there is no salvation, true Christian believers will desire to and will seek to join together in this life. Again, beloved, Christ gathers His people by the work of His Holy Spirit. Christ gathers that holy congregation and His people then have a duty to come together. And since the church is an assembly of those being saved, if we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore are a part of the holy congregation by God's grace, then we are called to church membership as evidence of that. To join with that assembly of those with whom we have the greatest gift in common. The Bible is filled with many examples of God's people binding themselves together. Israel, as a congregation, would gather together for worship. There are many songs of ascent in the Psalms of the congregation, the assembly, going up together for worship. As well, we know there are many calls to worship, and most of these, if not all of them, are calling for the assembly, for the congregation to come together in worship. One that's very familiar to us, Psalm 95, Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song. Come, let us bow down in worship. Let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker, For He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care. In the New Testament, as the Gospel went out and as Christians scattered all over the world, churches of true believers were begun in city after city. You know some of them. Just recite the epistles. Corinth, Ephesus, Rome, Thessalonica, Galatia, Philippi, to name some. In Hebrews 10, verse 25, we find this instruction, Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the day approaching. Paul says in verse 27 of our Scripture reading, Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. Indeed, corporate worship is, we might say, the crowning activity of the church of true believers. to worship the Christ who binds His people together. But in reality, church membership is more than just a Sunday activity. It's a lifestyle, and that's because of who Christians are. God calls us to church membership because of what the church is, but also because of who we are as Christians. A Christian, very simply, is a Christ follower. One who has been purchased by the blood of Jesus. One who is an adopted child of God. A Christian is one who has been grafted into the body of Christ, never to be separated. Never to become detached. But instead, one who has a place. One who has a purpose. One who has a function. A Christian is a part of the greatest family whose family line can be traced all the way back to the beginning. and will extend to the end of this world and not one family member will be missing or left behind because Jesus said that he would not lose even one. Now, Article 28 says a lot about our duties as Christians when it comes to being joined together in the true visible church. And the first duty is fellowship. We might say that that's, again, maybe the crowning duty from which all of our other duties flows. But to be a Christian means to have fellowship with the living Christ and at the same time with His people. See, God's people don't live alone. But they live together in fellowship. They live together in what they believe and in the way that they live. They share like desires and join together in service to their head. And because Christians live together in the body of Christ, there is a sense in which you can say that every experience of my life is a church experience. We need to listen to that closely. Every experience of my life is a church experience. I can never separate out or divorce from my life anything that does not have to do with me being a part of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ. It all has something to do with being a part of that body. In a sense, everything we do, every word we say, every activity we are involved in, all of it is done by Phil Voss, the Christian, the church member. All of it is done by put in your name, the Christian, the church member. Some of us have certain titles in our work that we go by. Maybe our business cards say it. CEO, president, sales representative, customer service, reverend. But this is the greatest title. This is the title that doesn't stop at the end of the day when you go home from work. This is a title that fits you and me 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year long, every year of our life. And as this is true of each of us as believers, that means as well that our lives are bound up with each other in Christ. You see, beloved, we have nothing in common with the world. That's a bold statement. We have nothing in common with the world except our sin. Yet it seems that even many of God's people nowadays want to have more and more in common with the world, to take delight in many of the things of the world. And some of it's not wrong, I'm not saying that at all. But in a sense, we have nothing in common with the world, but we have everything in common with each other. And that's why our fellowship is to be with each other and is so important for each other. This is a fellowship of love and loyalty for one another in the visible church, which springs from the deep conviction that we are grafted by grace into Christ's body. Beloved, the church of true believers is the answer for the lonely and the hungry heart. This is where believers can and must seek their life, their warmth, their shelter, their fellowship, their encouragement together in the body of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that's why the article says that no person of whatsoever state or condition he may be ought to withdraw from it, content to be by himself. The church is the body of Christ, as Paul makes clear in our Scripture reading. All the parts have different functions. All the parts work together for the sake of the whole. And all the parts need each other. See, beloved, you and I as Christians, we cannot do without each other. Boys and girls, have you ever seen a foot just walking along by itself without a body? Without a leg attached to it? Or a leg without a foot and a body? Of course not. It's hard to even imagine. Have you ever seen a hand out there working by itself? We'd like that when our parents give us a job to do. Just send my hands. The rest of me is going to watch TV. Ridiculous. It doesn't happen. The parts of the body only work when they are joined together, when they are doing what they were made to do, when they are healthy and well. And that's the way it is in the church and the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you believe in Jesus, you are a part of that body. You're joined to it. You're in that body. Outside of the body, there is no help. There is no light. There is no salvation. Now many of us, whether you realize it or not, many of us have seen the deadly danger of separating oneself from the church. I've got a couple of extreme examples in mind, and yet examples of when one goes off with their own teaching and even takes a group with them. We can think of Jim Jones and the Guyana tragedy 20 or 30 years ago. Or we think of David Koresh and the tragedy in Waco, Texas some 10 years ago. And in our current day, a man many of us have admired, Harold Camping, is teaching heresy, the very opposite of what the Bible teaches. The church age isn't over, as he says. It never will be. Praise God for that. And God calls us, beloved, to live with one another in unity. Unity of faith, hope, and love. Together, as the article says, we are called to join and unite together. And submit to the doctrine and discipline of the church. And to bow our necks under the yoke of Christ. And we are called to serve the edification of each other. according to the talents God has given to each of us. That's why Paul says in Ephesians 4, verses 11-16, it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men and their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the head, that is Christ. From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work. You see, beloved, not one of us has arrived in our spiritual walk. Not one of us is perfect and sinless and knows all that God has to teach us. In fact, the Heidelberg Catechism says, even the holiest in this life have but a small beginning of this new obedience. Not one of us is perfect and sinless in this life. On this side of glory, we won't be. But we are called to continue to study together. Together we are called to sit under the preaching of God's Word. Together we are called to do mutual accountability and to encourage one another to read it on our own and to have our own personal devotions. Together we are to gather in Bible studies in the three forms of unity class. Whether young or old, that's why all of our programs, to my knowledge, at least most of them, cadets, gems, young peoples, Bible studies, they all have a Scripture lesson. It is so very important, something we must never lose. Together, young or old, we are to strive to continue to learn and to sharpen our knowledge and pray that God would strengthen our faith. The yoke of Christ means to submit to the authority of His office bearers, that authority which must square with it must be in line with the will of the Savior. The office bearers have been given an important task which they are not to take lightly. They are called to be faithful in their oversight and care of the flock. And as the flock, we are called to respond accordingly. Hebrews 13.17 says, Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. Yes, God says, obey them. We are called to join a true, a faithful congregation to place ourselves under the authority of Christ by placing ourselves under the authority of the elders in order to be accountable to them, to Christ through them, in order to be disciplined by them if needed. You and I all know of people who are faithful church attenders. But they will have nothing to do with becoming a member because I am accountable to God. And others join maybe, or they start attending huge churches and I've heard the reason time and time again, I can sneak in, I can sneak right back out, and I don't have to bother with anybody. Nobody even knows that I was there. And that's the way I like it. We are called to be accountable to each other as well. I am to ask you to tell me, come to me, if I'm doing something wrong in my life. That's the hardest thing to do, isn't it? We are called to be accountable to each other and to the office bearers. To say, I'm accountable to God and God alone. And therefore, I'm not going to join the church. Well, what is God's response to that? He says, I give you elders in the church. Submit to them. Beloved, as Christian church members, we are called to serve the edification and encouragement of each other. It's not always easy, is it? Because we don't always get along. And sometimes we don't even like each other very much. Sometimes we joke and say, well, you can't choose your family. You're stuck with them. But you can choose your friends, so be wise. Beloved, we don't choose our brothers and sisters in the faith. They are given to us by God. And we must learn to live with them. And our holiness must manifest itself in our willingness to recognize that we are set apart for service. The communion of saints includes using our talents and abilities on behalf of each other. In obedience to our head, Jesus Christ, we desire to serve joyfully, and therefore we are called to edify, to encourage, to build up each other. And we do these things for each other, indeed, in a variety of ways. One of those is attending worship together. Truly, when your seat is empty, the body here is not complete. We do this by praying for each other, by being in contact with each other, by being involved in each other's lives. Not in a nosy way, mind you, but in a loving way. Only then will Paul's words be true in verse 26. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. We are called to join the church because of who Christians are, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore, we are called to join with those of like mind and heart. And that's why public profession of faith is so important, so necessary, and so wonderful. By God's grace, we say, I belong to Christ and to His people. And I want to tell of that. And I want to live it. Now, we all know, beloved, that it's easy to criticize the church. And a particular congregation. It's easy to say it's cold, it's not friendly, nobody talked to me. Shame on us if that's true. I have to tell you, I've heard many compliments from visitors. Again, when I was up in Langley a few weeks back, from them and others about how much they appreciated the hospitality being invited to host homes for a meal. I think we have a fairly good reputation in that sense and for which I'm grateful. However, I must also say that I know of one family right now that is looking elsewhere. They haven't been members here too long, but they have not been included. They have not felt welcomed by many of their own age group. See, it's easy as well to complain, beloved, when your desires and your expectations are not met right away in the church. But you see, that's the problem. Many seek a church for the wrong reasons in the first place. Yes, fellowship ought to be a part of the faithful church. Unfortunately, sometimes it's hard to find for newcomers. But as Article 29 will consider, the first thing we must look for in a true church are the marks of the true church. There are threats to the unity of the one body of Christ when people feel that what we do in church is to come to receive. When the truth is, we really come to give. To give our best. The best of our minds and hearts and souls and spirits in worship to Almighty God who invites us, who calls us here. We come to give that worship. Not to be pleased and to see if we can feel good about ourselves. We come to do what God calls us to do. Now this article also talks about separation. Separating from the church. There are right motives and there are wrong motives for separating oneself from a church. Beloved, schism is sin. It happens in many ways, but for one example, no one may destroy the unity of the church because he finds many faults in the lives of her members. Oh, it's easy for us, isn't it? We can find all kinds of faults in everybody else. We don't quickly look at ourselves. But don't forget, after we confess in the Apostles' Creed that we believe the reality of the communion of saints, we quickly confess to believe the reality of the forgiveness of sins. And that includes for each other. The truth is, beloved, it is wrong to leave the church over a disagreement with a fellow church member. Or because the people are not very friendly. Or because nobody invites me out for dinner. Or because the elders had to exercise discipline over a family member. And there are many other wrong motives or reasons. But if the marks of the true church, true gospel preaching, the administration of the sacraments faithfully, as well as faithful exercise of church discipline, if these are not practiced faithfully, or when the church authorities demand that we submit to a doctrine or a discipline or a tradition which openly and outrageously contradicts God's Word and they refuse the call to reformation, it is our duty to separate for the sake of the body of Christ. Beloved, to belong to the church is more than to be enrolled in a visible organization. Although ordinarily, a true Christian believer will demonstrate that he or she is a member of the Holy Congregation of Christ by visibly joining with fellow believers. I say ordinarily because some never have the opportunity. But our love for and our loyalty to the visible church must spring again from the deep conviction that we are indeed grafted into Christ's body. Many have no use for the church as she exists on this earth. That's dangerous. Nobody ought to be so arrogant in his thinking that he thinks, I can get by without the body of Christ. God's Word calls for a response. Jesus demands a response and says in effect when you believe my word it's your duty to seek the fellowship of fellow believers because you are a part of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what blessed fellowship that is. Why join the church? It is the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Beloved, one day the new heavens and new earth will have a particular population an exclusive population if you will. only the church. And apart from fellowship in that body, there is no salvation. Believers who truly understand what the church is and what it means to be a Christian will join a faithful local church and enjoy life in the body of believers in whose midst God has placed them. May we as a congregation of God's people rejoice in the tie that binds our hearts together in Christian love. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the church of Jesus Christ purchased with His precious blood and we thank You for that church as she is manifest in this life, in our lives, in true local churches, true congregations of true believers. and Father we pray that you would continue to bless us here in Escondido and all of our sister churches here in this city and state and country and world that you would continue to work in us and through us and that we might indeed beloved that we might indeed oh Lord as beloved of the Lord Jesus Christ encourage one another, edify each other build each other up in the most holy faith that we might desire that each other watches over us in such a way that it would be to our benefit for the sake of the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, hear our prayer for Jesus' sake and in His name alone. Amen.